Baseball history, one player at a time

Menu

Frank Malzone

A six-time all star, Malzone was a mainstay for the Boston Red Sox at third base from 1957-1965. His career started with Boston in 1955 when he was called up for six games. Two years later he was the club’s starting third baseman and on his way to his first All-Star Game. Malzone had a fantastic year in 1957, which was officially his rookie season. He hit .293, driving in 103 runs, which was a career high. In addition to playing in the All-Star Game, Malzone finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, was seventh in the MVP vote and won the American League Gold Glove. He won Gold Gloves again the following two years, going to the All-Star Game as well as getting MVP votes. Brooks Robinson broke Malzone’s hold on the American League Gold Glove for third basemen in 1960, but Malzone still played in the All-Star Game. Always a solid, if not spectacular, hitter, Malzone enjoyed his best offensive season in 1962 when he hit .283 with a career high 21 home runs and 95 RBI. He made trips to the All-Star Game again in 1963 and 1964 but saw his games played drop to 106 in 1965 and after one more season he was officially done.

For his career Malzone was a .274 hitter with 133 home runs. He spent 35 years working as a scout for Boston following his retirement. In 1995, he was a a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame’s first class. Malzone died in Needham, Massachusetts on December 29, 2015.